The camping was as bad as we expected (and I am NOT a natural at it, which will surprise no-one), but the desert was as gorgeous and relaxing and 'worth it' as I'd hoped.
Only just worth it, mind you. don't get any crazy ideas about me taking you camping if you visit.
Here's a camping spot I like near Alice Springs: Glen Helen Resort. There's no room service so it's basically camping.
Anyway, here are the gritty details of my camping suffering, and some reflections on the work if you're keen for that :-)
Let me say first that the landscapes were INCREDIBLE. Watching the colours and vegetation change as we drove further and further out into nothingness was like watching tv for 9 hours (possibly because I don't watch much tv bahahaha). It was brilliant to be in that beautiful place and I'm glad I went.
HOWEVER. I am, much as we expected, NOT cut out for the following:
- hot wind blowing dust in my face all day. Dust in my PORES, you guys.
- you know what that wind's good for though, STOPPING THE FLIES FROM ATTACKING MY FACE ALL THE GOD DAMN LIVELONG DAY. I had some feelings about the flies. I also never stopped trying to put food through my fly net into my mouth.
- feeling dirty for 4 days straight was NOT. O. KAY. The baby wipes only got me so far. By day 3 I was banishing my camp-mate to a nearby fire and having a furtive face-washer-bath in the dark. Absolutely none of this was becoming.
- a complete lack of climate control - I am a city-slicker weakling and I am not emotionally equipped for being at the mercy of the elements. Internally I was like a desert goldilocks - 'IT'S TOO HOT!' 'Now it's too cold.' 'I can't escape the sun and I'm going to get burnt!' 'It's too god damn dark, jesus, how am I supposed to cook like this?' I mean, I don't want to be stuck in an office until I die either, but the middle ground that is our demountable office in Alice is... necessary, for me. :-)
- being around people - and specifically, people I'll be working with, morning noon and night. While also being either too hot or too cold and not clean enough.
Here you go, as promised, a photo of the most ragged point in the trip:
The bush toilet situation, surprisingly, was fine. Least of my worries - I actually came to enjoy the breeze :-) (hahaha, I'm sorry, but at least a few of you asked :-))
Here's a photo of my tent (very generously loaned to me by a new colleague) so you can imagine:
a) the incredible view of the stars*
b) my rapidly declining comfort levels :-)
*every one of the 50 times per night I woke up, due variously to: being too hot, being too cold, the tossing and turning realities of sleeping on a very thin swag mattress, people yelling in the camp (there's a tradition that translates to 'morning news', which involves, in the very, very early hours of the morning, people calling out the things they're displeased with, any concerns they have, etc. Sounds very healthy and cathartic. Could we possibly do it at 2pm, maybe with a facilitator and a cup of tea?)...
In terms of work, it was as interesting as you'd expect. The format of the AGM was a series of presentations from the various programs administered by the the women's council, delivered to a waxing and waning group of up to 120 members, mostly middle-aged and older Aboriginal women from the 26 communities spread across the NPY lands. After each presentation, members could ask questions or have a say about various issues. In many ways it was a bureaucrat's nightmare - there was a list of agenda items, but absolutely no timeslots - we just went through them one by one until it was over, and the contributions from members were often unrelated and/or not productive. Of course, that's not the point and the engagement and sharing of information are all really valuable - but it's a pretty different approach to meeting management :-)
Here's the meeting set-up - directors sat here while the members sat under a few marquees across from them. What a meeting room, hey? :-)
My 'work' for the few days was to help with putting together the 'dinner bags' for distribution to each of the camp sites so the women could cook their own dinner. The first day I suggested the imposition of some order by arranging the items in the bags in a uniform way so that a) they'd all fit and b) we could easily be sure we hadn't missed anything. This attempt to establish a system in relative chaos earned me the 'data nerd' reputation early (fair) and turned out to be a losing battle. There were a lot of frozen kangaroo tails involved (did you guys know you can buy them in bulk by the box? no? well, let me know if you're keen and I could ship you some - hrmbleeeugh! :-)) which, mercifully, I managed to avoid touching or tasting. Oh and boxes of frozen rabbits. I am not in Kansas anymore.
The meeting was a good opportunity to really anchor my more abstract, research-focused work in the context - and to remind me that not a single thing we're trying to do out here will be easy. But, of course, it also reminded how deeply, awfully necessary it - anything, any attempt at fixing this mess we've made - is.
So far I'm really glad to be in Alice Springs - it's a fun little town and it kind of always feels like a holiday - and I'm really excited about the work.
Stay in touch, guys. Hope everyone's well there.
xx E
PS. For your possible amusement:
1. In case anyone thought the desert might change me, this is me schlepping across the camp to the morning staff meeting - my 45 second commute - somehow *still* running a couple of minutes late and taking my tea with me because I couldn't get it together enough to finish it before leaving the camp site :-)
2. This is my desert work wardrobe - what I wouldn't have given at this point for a nice pair of black pants :D
(the skirt was as instructed - generally i'm told the members prefer long skirts and no exposed shoulders - not ideal in the heat!)
3. This is my new boss presenting our program for discussion. You guys - check out this huge whiteboard OMG :D
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